The present dissertation Integrated Science Education and History of Science in Chemistry Education is aimed at the problem of integrating scientific subjects by means of natural history. The thesis contains research concerned with integrating science education in its various forms and its analysis from the point of valid curricular documents. Results of a questionnaire on intersubject integration distributed among grammar school chemistry teachers are presented in the thesis. Further on, an approach to the integration by means of natural history is presented. Didactic materials were created on this topic: worksheets and didactic tests in Adobe Flash. Worksheets were attested in grammar school teaching and results of this attestation are included. The thesis also includes results of two projects aimed at the topic of natural history. These projects are: History of Natural Sciences in High School Teacher Education (Fund for the development of higher education in the Czech Republic, 2011) and a course called Alchymistic Prague (Developmental project of the Ministry of Education, 2011: Chemistry year - Chemistry for all).

<p>Student-centered pedagogies have become increasingly popular in higher education. Research on flipped learning, in particular, has shown that collaborative problem-solving environments are able to better support effective learning than lecture alone. However, the effects of this format on students’ interests and motivations in chemistry remain unknown. For this study, students and graduate teaching assistants who participated in a flipped learning, second-semester general chemistry course were selected to participate in a focus group discussion and individual interviews that explored their experiences and perceptions of the features of the course (affordances) that supported and thwarted their sense of motivation.</p><p>This phenomenographic study mapped eight students’ experiences of the course and used qualitative data from interviews with the graduate teaching assistants (TAs) to compare and contrast with students’ claims. Self-determination theory was used to frame these experiences and the results were discussed using other relevant theories of motivation, including, but not limited to expectancy-value theory and achievement goal theories.</p><p></p><p>It was found that there are several features of the course that support students’ motivations according to the basic psychological needs of relatedness, autonomy, and competency in self-determination theory. The study also revealed many features of the course that thwarted students’ motivations. Features that students described as motivating left them feeling connected to their peers and other agents in the course, capable of efficiently interacting with their environments as a result of the course tasks, and a sense that their performance was related to their efforts. Features that students’ described as demotivating left them feeling helpless, incompetent, alone, and without a sense of control over their performance in the course.</p><p>The results of this study shed light on students’ perceptions of the environment in a flipped learning chemistry course. These findings can be used to improve students’ experiences, and consequently their motivation when taking a flipped learning chemistry course. Specific assertions developed from these results and recommendations for these improvements are further discussed.</p>

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High attrition rates in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields are major challenges in undergraduate education. Many students enrolled in STEM fields end up switching their majors to non-STEM fields or leave college without earning any academic qualification. Due to these reasons, the United States is facing a critical shortage of future talented STEM personnel in the domestic workforce. Therefore, graduating a sufficient number of talented students in STEM fields has come to national attention. It is important to examine strategies for improving STEM-major retention and undergraduate education in STEM disciplines. The main purpose of this study was to investigate methods to improve students’ social and peer-mentoring interactions within the undergraduate chemistry program at Mississippi State University to improve student learning and their attachment to chemistry and the STEM major. In Chapter II, a study performed to examine peer-mentoring interaction patterns that occur between laboratory partners in the General Chemistry I laboratories is discussed. In this study, five different laboratory partnership types were created. In the development of some partnership types, Math ACT score and lecture section were used as metrics for matching lab partners to create supportive peer-mentoring interactions. Also, students were encouraged to participate in external study groups during the semester. This research study determines whether valued peer-mentoring interactions in the laboratory could support students to be more successful in their chemistry coursework and to have improved social interactions. In Chapter III, a peer review writing assignment that mimics the publication process is presented. This writing assignment supports students to improve their writing skills by reviewing peer write-ups and practicing critical analysis of their work. This assignment is introduced to upper-level undergraduate students to improve their scientific literacy skills in order to prepare them for future scientific communication. In Chapters IV and V, two new laboratory experiments that are connected to real-life scenarios are presented. These laboratory experiments are designed to improve student interest in laboratory learning and to enhance their learning in chromatography techniques and hands-on experience with the GC-MS instrument.

The purpose of the study was to conduct documented research on two of the recently designed teaching methods of high school chemistry, the Chemical Education Material Study (CHEM Study) and the Chemical Bond Approach (CBA). An attempt was made to answer certain questions concerning differences in the two methods.

This thesis deals with the study of skill sets which the students acquired prior to attending the Faculty of Education at Charles University, specifically the Department of Chemistry and Chemistry Education, and how their knowledge of the subject improved after attending the Chemistry Calculations course, specifically in the 2020/2021 winter semester. In the first part of this thesis, where the theoretical standpoints are established, the thesis deals with the research of chemistry calculations wherein, for example, the students' issues regarding these calculations are outlined. Additionally, this part includes the includes the position of chemical calculations inside curriculum documents (RVP ZV, RVP G and RVP SOV) and how they are accepted and used directly in elementary and high schools. The second, practical, part studies the students' ability to solve chemical calculations after attending high school. The study was carried out by entrance exams. Not only was the success rate observed, but also the reasons of success or failure were examined. In the subsequent section of the study, a similar entrance exam was given out to students who have attended the Chemistry Calculations course, which delivered insight into whether the course improved the knowledge of the students on this subject. All...

Student success in chemistry has been linked to a wide range of factors. Some of these factors are familiar, easily quantified measures; colleges typically rely on factors like high school GPA and measures of aptitude to make admission decisions or set course prerequisites. Success in chemistry courses can be linked to these measures, and math aptitude scores in particular are often used as prerequisites for introductory chemistry courses. However, success in chemistry can also be affected by factors like motivation, peer interactions, sense of belonging, and metacognitive skill. Additionally, outcomes in chemistry and other STEM courses like math and physics have been repeatedly found to be inequitable. In Chapter I, background information relevant to the subsequent chapters will be discussed. In Chapter II, group quizzes were implemented as a collaborative learning tool in a large-lecture format first-semester organic chemistry classroom. Chapter III describes a multifaceted scholarship support program for chemistry, physics, and math majors. This program strove to support traditionally underrepresented groups in chemistry through several components, including a team-building course and mentorship. Heavy emphasis was placed on building a peer support network. In Chapter IV, confidence surveys were implemented to encourage student metacognitive monitoring. Student success and confidence were assessed through three scopes: as they pertained to the overall course, by exam, and by individual topic.

In this study, undergraduate student attitudes towards organic chemistry and the influences that shape those attitudes were explored using the Attitudes Towards Organic Chemistry Instrument (ATOC) to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. The findings from the qualitative ATOC items provide evidence that students displayed a wide range of attitudes towards organic chemistry, including positive, negative, neutral, and blended attitudes. Five major influences were shown to have shaped these attitudes including the reputation of the course, students' educators, experiences with organic chemistry, experiences with introductory chemistry, and individual experiences. Students responses longitudinally provide evidence that their influences and attitudes change over time in the course. The findings from the quantitative ATOC items provided evidence that the data generated was valid and reliable, and a relationship was found to exist between what students think and what they had heard about the course. Limitations of this investigation, as well as implications for research and practitioners, are discussed.

Topics Raw materials and their utilisition has been disposed in this graduation thesis. A survey of curicular documents, school books for secondary schools and theses focused on D-elements has been conducted. The technical text transformation into the teaching material has been made on the basis of this survey. This can be used as teaching aids in chemistry and environmental lessons. Experiments suitable for secondary teaching have been carried and the lab protocol for the higher and lower grades of grammar schools has been created.

This research encompasses many aspects of chemical education research including curriculum and pedagogical changes to the freshman and sophomore courses. Curriculum changes included the addition of recitations to the general chemistry and organic chemistry lectures and the creation of four new classes, CHEM 1001, 1002, 3091, and 3092. The addition of recitations was not limited to but was focused on improving DFW rates for these courses. CHEM 3091 and 3092 are chemistry internship and undergraduate teaching assistant classes. These courses were necessary to offer outside internship opportunities and training for undergraduate teaching assistants, respectively. CHEM 1001 and 1002 are chemistry classes for nonscience majors. These courses were created to attempt to increase the number of nonscience major students choosing chemistry to complete their science requirement. CHEM 1001 and 1002 were courses not offered at any other university and required that the course materials and textbooks for these classes to be created from scratch without any foundation from other courses. An unforeseen consequence of the creation of these courses was the need to improve scientific communication between scientists and non-scientists and even scientist and scientist. Pedagogical work included a video intensive lecture style (VILS) for disseminating the material in the newly created CHEM 1001 and 1002 courses. For general chemistry and organic chemistry lecture, the major change was the addition of required recitation sessions for these courses. Further pedagogical changes to the organic lecture included introduction of video lectures, implementation of active learning in the lecture and graded, online homework.